This invention relates to mail processing, and specifically to improvements in mail processing systems, which will assist central postage facilities in carrying out certain mail handling tasks.
The above-noted, commonly-assigned, related application, Ser. No. 285,891, whose contents are hereby incorporated by reference, describes a mail processing system which assists a postal system in carrying out certain tasks. The underlying concept is work-sharing, that is, pre-processing of the mail to reduce the postal system workload in exchange for certain discounts in postal rates. Among the novel concepts disclosed in said related application is to apply to individual mail pieces coded indicia, and to provide at the various stations which process the mail from the mailer/sender source to the addressee/receiver destination equipment for detecting the coded indicia and thereby establishing at that station the presence of the mail piece. In effect, the system tracks the progress of the coded mail piece through the system. This requires a computerized central station between the postal system and the mailer in two-way communication with the latter, and also in communication with each station.
As is explained in the related application, the two-way nature of the communication link established by virtue of the central station between the U.S. Postal Service and the local user is also capable of two-way transmission. Since the local user has placed a certification stamp onto the individual mail piece, such certification having a unique identifying characteristic, it is possible for the user, utilizing this same certification identification, to check on the progress of a particular item of mail through the U.S. Postal Service system. Thus, by the utilization of encryption and bar or other coding on mail pieces, termed key line coding and provided by the local user facility, a database can be established at the central station identifying the location of various mail pieces at any particular point in the course of delivery from local sender locations, through all central facility locations, to local delivery. This information can be captured at several points of entry into the system. The capture points may include the mailer when the mail piece or parcel is placed into the carrier service, the carrier service when the mail piece or parcel is sorted, when the mail piece or parcel is placed into its delivery channel, when it is received at a bulk mail station, when it is received at each sectional station, when it is received at each central station, and when it is placed into local delivery. In this way, key-line tracking of the mail piece or parcel is utilized to identify the parcel and by so doing with suitable encryption provides the mechanism to identify its location in the system.
Commercial software is also available in the shipping field for managing a variety of logistics tasks, from procurement and supply to customer delivery. One of these known systems provides a data exchange service for entities on a network. In addition, it provides software for shipment tracking and status, including routing of shipments to minimize cost, scheduling shipping dates, and scheduling arrival times, among other information. However, it is not believed that this known system provides up-to-the-minute information as to shipment location, or provides the data or the means to take corrective action for shipment delays.